“We are not discussing any plans to move Southend A&E to Basildon. Our current thinking is that there should be 24/7 A&E services at all three hospital sites in mid and south Essex for the majority of people who go to A&E.

“We are discussing how the three hospitals could work better together to meet increasing demands. National guidance advises that a population of the size we have in mid and south Essex would be better served by a designated specialist emergency hospital for life-threatening and ‘blue light’ emergencies, supported by a network of urgent and emergency care services. This is based on clinical evidence about improving patients’ chances of survival and a good recovery and could be any one of the present three hospitals.

“Similar specialist services are already in place for some emergencies in Essex. People with serious injuries are taken by ambulance to London or Cambridge, people with serious burns are taken by ambulance to Broomfield in Chelmsford and people suffering an acute heart attack are taken by ambulance to the cardiothoracic centre in Basildon.

“There are no proposals as yet and we are listening to local service users as well as staff to inform potential options for future public consultation.”